Shadows
by RoseOwl9035
Summary: This story follows the life of Alice Macmillan Longbottom from age 11 until she loses her sanity. During it, she experiences self-discovery, death, love, and betrayal. Through it all, she remains steadfastly dedicated to those she loves.
1. The Letter

**Chapter 1: The Letter**

Peggy was excited for Hogwarts. It was all she ever talked about. Since the age of four, when she had exhibited her first signs of magic, she had gone on and on about the spells she was going to do when she got to Hogwarts, the potions she would brew, the broom she would fly. She talked incessantly about how she was going to get eight N.E.W.T.s, just like father, and how she was going to be a proud Ravenclaw, like her parents had been.

But not Alice.

Alice didn't want to go to Hogwarts. Oh, yes, at a young age she had heard the stories her mother and father had told. Her father talked again and again about the enchanted castle full of ghosts and hidden chambers and growing young witches and wizards. Alice's mother talked about how she had been the best in her class in Herbology and had been on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team that had won the house cup for three consecutive years. Alice had wanted to go, back then. She truly had. But as she grew older, her goals changed. She did not want to go to Hogwarts because then she would have to leave Jeff.

Jeff was Alice's best friend. He and Alice did things together that Alice could never do with Peggy, who was bored by boyish games and had a constant fear of ruining her beautiful dresses and hair. They would climb up to the top of the tall tree near the creek, throw mud at each other, or play toy soldiers with Jeff's brothers. The only times Alice felt that she could be herself was when she was wearing boys' clothes, riding bikes, or playing with Jeff's dogs.

Alice was tall and very slender. She was sometimes awkward on her feet and clumsy. She didn't do well in high-heels or dresses or anything girly. She had wavy, dirty-blonde hair that ran down her back, but she usually wore it back in a pony-tail to keep it out of the way. Nothing in Alice's appearance was particularly attractive, in her opinion. Peggy, on the other hand, was gorgeous. She was petite and she had dark, curly brown hair and a rosy complexion. She loved clothes and she always looked well-dresed. She was _good_ at everything ladylike. Alice would just rather not bother.

She would much rather be playing boyish muggle games than playing tea party or dress-up or dolls with Peggy and her friends. And Alice didn't think she could make anyone understand that she would rather stay home and play with Jeff than to leave him and become a witch. As exciting and fun as doing magic sounded, it was nothing when she could share it with no one. And Alice, devoted as she may be to those who were her close friends, did not make friends easily. She was too quiet, too muted. She didn't like to put out the effort to be nice to other people who may not like her back.

So on that cloudy Friday morning when Alice received her Hogwarts letter, she did not smile or cheer like she knew Peggy would next year. Her parents, knowing that the letter had indeed been expected, did not comment on her lack of emotion, although Alice's mother did look at her with a bit of disappointment. Clearly Alice was supposed to be like her sister, jumping up and down and excited.

Instead, Alice slipped into her bedroom, pulled out her copy of _Emma,_ and began to read. In Alice's opinion, the only true world that was always friendly was the world of books. It offered an escape when life became unbearable, and when the scenes in a book proved hard to bear, Alice could remember that these scenes were indeed not part of her real life.

As Alice read, Peggy skipped into the room. Or, at least, it sounded to Alice like she had skipped; Peggy always seemed to make so much noise doing everything that she did. Ignoring the fact that her sister was immersed in her literary world, Peggy cried out loudly, "I heard you got your letter!"

Paying her sister no mind, Alice turned the page and continued to read.

"So tell me, what house do you want to be in?" demanded Peggy eagerly, determined to get her sister to talk about Hogwarts.

Alice reluctantly looked up from the beloved paragraphs and met her sister's eyes. "What does it matter?" she asked. "The hat chooses, not me."

She looked back down at the book only to have her sister tug on her sleeve.

"But you can still have it in mind where you want to go! I want to be in Ravenclaw!" Alice sighed. Her sister was so sure of herself, so happy. She wished she could be that way. And she certainly would be much more cheerful, if only she would know anyone that would be at school when she arrived in three months.

Alice's thoughts and Peggy's continued ramblings were cut off by the sharp ring of the doorbell. "I'll get it!" sang Peggy as she proceeded to make her noisy exit from the room.

Alice rolled her eyes and returned to the world of Emma, only to be interrupted from her fantasy once more, this time by a different voice. "Hey Alice."

Alice looked up to see Jeff.

"Oh, hi," she said in disappointment. She didn't want to tell him, not yet. Alice would have wanted to wait until tonight, or tomorrow...or perhaps the end of the summer before she would have to tell Jeff that she was leaving him. But now, she knew, was the best time to tell him.

"Well, you don't have to sound so cheerful about it," said Jeff. This, of course made Alice smile a little. She opened her mouth to tell Jeff about the Hogwarts letter when Jeff cut her off.

"I have something to tell you," he said. "I-er-I got accepted into a boarding school that I'm going to this fall, so I won't be seeing you until Christmas."

Alice's eyebrows shot up into her hair. _Could it be!_ Her voice rose several pitches as she responded, "What school?"

"Er...it's called Hogwarts," said Jeff. Noting the sheer look of alarm on Alice's face, he said, "I'm not sure where it is exactly...Scotland, I think."

When Alice still said nothing, he said, "What?" Alice took in a deep breath.

"I'm going there too."


	2. Summer

**Chapter 2: Summer**

Of course, Jeff had a ton of questions. He indicated to Alice that he had always done things that he could not explain but had always been too afraid to let on about his ability. But Jeff had not grown up in a magic home. He had not grown up with a pharmacy of magical plants growing in his backyard, Pepper-Up potion for every cold, or the tears in his jeans being stitched up by a simple charm. He had no idea what Apparation or Quidditch was, and he was bewildered by the very mention of magical creatures such as gnomes.

One day Jeff and Alice were walking through the garden at Alice's house when Jeff pointed out a large green plant with strange red spikes on it. It was squirting out drops of a strange blue liquid at irregular intervals. "What is _that_?" he asked, perplexed.

Alice shrugged. "Oh, some healing plant. My mother's _obsessed_ with plants. I don't really understand it. She has an entire apothecary growing in our garden, and she uses her plants to make medicines that she sells to shops in Diagon Alley. It's so odd. One time I walked out into the garden, and she was _speaking_ to them. Some things about my mother..." Alice trailed off. Alice did not take after her mother, this she knew. Her mother's features, personality, and interests were instead manifested in Peggy. In fact, many a day had Alice seen her mother and Peggy working together in the garden. Peggy loved gardening to the extent that learning about magical herblore was the only activity in which she would face the liklihood of becoming dirty. Alice noted that although Peggy was not to start Hogwarts for another year, she was likely already years ahead of her peers in Herbology class.

"I thought you said your mum worked at a drug store," said Jeff, his brow furrowed.

"What?" asked Alice, blushing at the memory of the falsehood she had told. "Oh, I did, I suppose. But I couldn't rightly tell you what she really does, could I?"

"I suppose not," Jeff replied. After a brief silence, he asked, "What is Diagon Alley? That's where I'm supposed to buy my school supplies. Is it some sort of shopping center?"

Alice laughed. "Well, I suppose it is. It's a very _large_ shopping center, though. Wizards and witches have to stay inconspicuous, so they do most of their shopping in one area."

During the afternoon, they had a long, intriguing talk about the magical world. Jeff was nowhere near finished questioning Alice about magic when Alice's mother called them in for dinner.

"So I have something to tell you," said Alice, as they sat down before their turkey salad. All eyes at the table turned toward her. "Jeff is going to Hogwarts with me in the fall. He's a wizard!"

This announcement elicited much more excitement than had the receiving of Alice's letter that morning. Peggy, of course was ecstatic, while Mrs. Macmillan said, "Why, how wonderful, dear!" Mr. Macmillan, who was sitting beside Jeff, clapped his shoulder.

"Congratulations," he said proudly.

Mrs. Macmillan then took her usual disposition of concern. "Are you going to be all right getting your school things? You can come with us when we go to get Alice's."

"Oh, could he?" asked Alice in excitement.

Jeff smiled. "That would be nice," he said politely. "But actually I'm supposed to go with someone called Professor Flitwick to get my school things."

Mrs. Macmillan waved her hand. "Oh, that's easily remedied. I'll send dear old Flitwick an owl and tell him that you are safe with us. I'm sure he will be happy enough to allow us to spare him a trip to London."

At this point, Jeff looked genuinely cheeful. Alice had to admit that she shared in these sentiments. Oh, to think, she was not only about to go to the school she had heard about all her life, but she was also about to share it with her best friend in the world. Life could get no better!

The rest of the summer until August passed in sheer pleasure. Alice told Jeff everything she knew about Hogwarts, but he was still begging to know more. He asked her questions that Alice doubted even her parents could answer. She had to tell him, several times, "I guess we'll just find out when we get there."

_Well, you've made it through two chapters of my story. Please tell me what you think; whether you loved it or it's the worst fanfic you've ever read, I would love to hear from you (although if it's the latter it might lower my self-esteem a few points). You are what gives me the motivation to write this story, so your feedback is always appreciated! :)_


	3. Jeff

**Chapter 3: Jeff**

Alice thought back to when she had first met Jeff. She had met Jeff at the creek when she was seven and had just moved into a Muggle village called Grayson so her mother could have the privacy to grow a magical garden. Alice had no longer been able to see the few magical friends she left in London, and didn't know how she was going to get along with anyone in this new place, particularly since this was a Muggle village. Alice remembered too well the warning that had been issued by her father to herself and Peggy, "This is not the magical part of London. This is the Muggle world. Here, you are not allowed to even mention magic, spells, or anything relating to it. There are protective spells around the house and the garden so that Muggles will not suspect anything, but for our safety _and _for the safety of the Muggles around, your lips must stay sealed. Do you understand me?"

And he made the girls promise that they would not breathe a word of this to anyone. Quite honestly, Alice did not understand why her father had made such an issue over the family's magic. She knew about the Statute of Secrecy, and she knew that she was not to tell Muggles about magic. But when Alice realized how potent her magical powers truly were, she understood the true difficulty of keeping her powers a secret.

Alice liked to explore. There was only one neighbor in this area, which was so different from the crowded magical area of London. Alice walked until she saw flowing blue water. She sat down beside it, and was absentmindedly making rings in the water without touching it when she heard her sister yell, "Hey look!"

Alice turned and saw what Peggy saw. A boy was standing several meters away, pounding on a drumset. He was small; he looked as though he could be no older than Alice. Yet he was beating on the drum with everything he had. Peggy started to run toward him, and Alice followed close behind. "What are you doing?" she whispered harshly. But Peggy would not stop until she was right in front of the drummer boy.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Can I have a go?"

Alice grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face her. "Peggy! What are you doing? You know what father said about talking to strangers!"

Peggy looked up at her. "But he's just a boy. He's not dangerous."

At this point the boy had stopped playing. He was now listening to the discussion with a smile on his face. "Not dangerous, huh?" he asked. "What makes you so sure?"

Peggy looked up at him and pondered the question. "Well...you're a drummer," she said. "There's nothing dangerous about drummers."

Jeff looked at her with bewilderment, and then finally asked, "Who are you ladies anyhow?"

Peggy grinned. "I'm Peggy, and this is my sister Alice."

"Pleasure," he said. "I'm Jeff Roberts. I, apparently, am a non-dangerous drummer." He winked and smirked.

Alice took in his appearance. He had sandy brown hair that fell into his amber eyes. Having a slightly muscular build, his tanned skin displayed his habits of spending quite a bit of time in the sun. As she was studying his appearance, she realized that he was watching her.

"Well," he said, "I suppose I'm not a stranger anymore, am I? You can speak to me now."

Alice's eyebrows pushed together. "What makes you not a stranger?"

"Well, we've been introduced, haven't we?" he said. "Not strangers."

Before Alice could reply, a voice called, "Hey, Jeffrey, who are these people?"

A larger boy who had lighter hair but the same shade of eyes as Jeff came into sight. The boy looked down at Peggy and asked, "Oh, playing dolls are we?"

Without another word, he took Peggy's doll and pitched it into the creek. Chortling, he disappeared from sight.

Peggy was sobbing. "Oh, no! I just arranged Macy's hair and now she is going to be all soggy. And I can't go home with wet stockings! What Mother would say!" Before Alice knew what she was doing, the doll disappeared from the creek and reappeared on the ground.

Alice asked Jeff in anger, "Who _is _that?"

Jeff shrugged. "Oh, that's my cousin Charlie. He's a bit of a berk, I'm sorry to say. And his mother is tiresome. It's always such a chore to have them over."

Suddenly, Jeff turned and looked at the ground in front of the creek, where the doll lay. "Hey, I thought he had chucked the thing into the creek," he said. "How is it lying there?"

"What?" asked Alice, knowing that she must think quickly. "Oh, he missed. Didn't you see?"

A puzzled expression crossed Jeff's brow, and he shook his head, but he shrugged. "So, you still want a go on the drum?" he asked Peggy.

From that day on, Jeff and Alice became best friends. Peggy's amity with Jeff didn't last much longer than the first day when he attempted to teach her the game of baseball and she got a stain on her fluffy pink and white dress.

However, everything that Jeff did, Alice loved. She might not be good at everything they did (she was not at all athletic), but everything Jeff did was so _fun_. Whether they were teaching his dogs tricks or singing popular Muggle songs to passing cars at the tops of their lungs, Alice felt that she was at a place in which she truly belonged.

As the children grew older, they found that they shared another common interest: books. Alice loved reading all the classics she could get her hands on, but Jeff especially liked stories about heroes. All of his favorite stories involved a hero and a villian; a good guy and a bad guy. And the good guy always won. He loved books from Charles Dickens to J.R.R. Tolkein.

So Jeff and Alice would spend many an afternoon, sitting in a tree near the creek with Alice reading aloud to Jeff while Jeff read the quotations of the heroes.

It did not happen all at once, but sometime during those long afternoons, Alice and Jeff developed a bond of friendship that could not be broken. They were loyal to each other, and they knew, even at their young age, that they would always stand by one another.


	4. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 4: Diagon Alley**

The morning that Mrs. Macmillan took Jeff and Alice to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies was dull and rainy. However, this dreary weather didn't bother Alice; she had been waiting for this day for weeks and weeks. Today, she would finally be able to introduce Jeff into the wizarding world once and for all, read brand new school books...and get her wand. Alice couldn't wait to put her fingers around the handle of her wand, the outlet of her power, the wand that would choose her.

Mrs. Macmillan, Alice, and Jeff each grabbed a handful of Floo powder and crowded near the kitchen fireplace. Jeff looked at the green powder in his hand, not knowing exactly how it worked. Alice could tell that he was very nervous about traveling with it and entering the magical world, so she smiled at him in an attempt to reassure him. "It's not that bad. Trust me," she said in what she hoped was a soothing voice. Then, she threw the powder into the flame, walked into it, and yelled, "_Diagon Alley!_" loudly and as clearly as possible.

Watching Jeff's face at the sight of Diagon Alley was one of Alice's favorite parts of the entire trip. His mouth was dropped open in wonder, his eyes became as big as saucers, and he had the innocent expression akin to one seeing the ocean for the first time. Alice had been to Diagon Alley many times when she went with her mother to sell ingrediants to various apothecaries, so this was not a new experience for her. In contrast, as Jeff, who had never seen anything more magical than the plants in Mrs. Macmillan's garden, beheld the sights of the magical "shopping center" he obviously could not believe his eyes.

Mrs. Macmillan hurried Jeff and Alice along to Gringotts and tried to make the endeavor quick so that they would be able to have plenty of time to get to all the shops. Of course, Jeff oohed and aahed at the bank, was politely shushed by Mrs. Macmillan when he tried to ooh and aah at the goblins, and proceded to ooh and aah at the carts and the vaults. Alice had to admit, by the time she was blinking in the bright light as they emerged from the bank, she was quite sick of Jeff's continued marveling.

When Jeff shouted, "Hey Wallace, look at that! That store is selling brooms! You know, the kind you ride on!" Alice replied, "Jeff, do you know how honestly annoying you're getting?"

Jeff just shrugged and countered, "Well, you would have liked to be able to do this the first time you came inside my house, wouldn't you, Wallace?"

As the memory returned to Alice's mind, she had to agree. Walking inside Jeff's house and acting like it contained nothing out of the ordinary was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She had found herself on countless occasions wanting to ask what the purposes of certain objects were, but was always able to stop herself. Alice remembered how she was so afraid to say something wrong that she said nothing at all for an entire hour.

Before they could enter Flourish and Blotts, they were stopped by a short, plump woman with graying brown hair and a blue handbag, who was accompanied by a son and a daughter. Alice recognized the woman as Mrs. Longbottom, a woman who had helped set Mrs. Macmillan up with the apothecaries to which she now sold her plants. There was something about Mrs. Longbottom that bothered Alice. Perhaps it was merely the fact that she was so _interested_ in her. She would ask her questions about how she liked living in the village and if she had any friends there. She was probably just trying to be friendly, but somehow Alice was bothered when adults were too friendly with children.

Alice had never met Mrs. Longbottom's children. They introduced themselves as Frank and Michelle Longbottom. Frank was tall, and had brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He introduced himself as going into his third year at Hogwarts. Michelle was a minature version of Frank, but with softer features. Her light brown hair was arranged into pigtales, and she was carrying a copy of _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_. Frank shook hands with Jeff and smiled at Alice. Alice took note of his sharpened manners and confidant attitude. He seemed to have no trouble meeting new people or getting conversations started.

"So you're a family friend?" he asked Jeff politely, having heard the introduction made by Mrs. Macmillan. When Jeff nodded, Frank smiled warmly.

"Don't worry about Hogwarts," he advised cheerfully. "My best friend Thomas is Muggleborn, and he is doing very well at Hogwarts. He's top of the Hufflepuff third years in charms! In fact-there he is now! If you'll excuse me." And, without ceasing his good manners, he smiled at his new acquaintances and hurried off to join his friend.

Mrs. Longbottom and Mrs. Macmillan were in deep conversation-about the process of sending a first-year child to Hogwarts, no doubt-so Alice persuaded them to wave her, Jeff, and Michelle off to Melton's Robes and Cloaks to be fitted for their for robes for school.

The lady who fitted them for their robes was very cheery. She had them each sit down, and she and her assistant went right to work measuring them and pinning pieces of fabric on them. After a few pleasant minutes of this, Michelle broke the silence.

"So what house do you think you will be in?" she asked them curiously.

Jeff had a blank look on his face, so Alice replied, "I don't know. Most of my family has been in either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Both my parents were in Ravenclaw. What about you?"

Michelle shrugged. "Probably Hufflepuff," she said. "I hope so. I mean, almost my whole family has been a part of it, and I do hope to be in the same house as my brother."

Michelle's excitement and attitude toward her older sibling reminded Alice of Peggy to some extent. Alice knew that whatever house she was in was bound to be the house her sister would be dreaming of. Peggy wanted to do everything Alice did. Unless, of course, it involved boyish games or becoming coated in mud.

"What about you?" Michelle asked Jeff politely. Like her brother, she did not seem inclined to leave anyone out in her dealings with people.

Jeff shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I've heard of the different houses, what they are at least, but I don't know which one I would fit best in. None of my family has ever been to Hogwarts before."

Michelle smiled simpathetically. "Don't worry," she said. "The only house you don't want to be in is Slytherin, and you won't have to worry about that since you're a Muggleborn."

Jeff looked at her in bewilderment. "What do you mean?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Alice had not talked with him about the prejudice many purebloods had toward Muggle-borns. To her it was ridiculous and unacceptable, and she didn't see the point of bringing it up to Jeff.

"Oh, the Slytherins are just so picky. They think the only people who are any good are the people who are from all-magical families, and quite frankly, they're full of it."

Jeff didn't look happy about this piece of information, and Alice hoped that he would not ask her too many questions about the subject. She knew he would learn how rude some purebloods could be when he got to Hogwarts.

The three incoming first-years completed their fittings in silence, and eventually the women came into the shop to pay for their robes.

The rest of the shopping went by quickly, but Alice had a great time. She and Jeff acquired school books-along with some magical adventure books that the two soon-to-be Hogwarts students couldn't resist-and they also bought cauldrons, potions ingredients, and at last went to Ollivander's to get their wands. Alice was very pleased with hers; she had wanted a wand with dragon heartstring. Her day, already one of the best she had had in weeks, was topped off when Mrs. Macmillan bought Alice a beautiful brown owl as a going-away gift. Alice named him Gawain, after the hero in one of her favorite Muggle stories that she shared with Jeff.

That night, when Alice lay in bed she looked across the room at her pile of schoolbooks, her wand, and the empty cage in which Gawain would sleep. She felt that everything was the way it should be, and she thought that things could not possibly get any better.


	5. The Last Day

**Chapter 5: The Last Day**

It was August 31. The next day, Alice and Jeff would embark on a journey to a place they had never been. Alice, who had heard of Hogwarts her entire life, was merely excited, but Jeff was very nervous. He and Alice had tried out a few of the simplist spells in _Standard Book of Spells Grade 1_, and Jeff had managed to produce sparks out of the end of his wand, but still he was afraid that his magical skills would be deplorable compared with the rest of his class.

But they could think about all that tomorrow. Today was the last day in Grayson. They would not return until Christmas, so Alice and Jeff intended to spend the day enjoying their childhood home that they were sure to miss in the next few weeks.

Alice grabbed a stick from near the creek and started to lunge at Jeff with it, but Jeff was quick. He grabbed a large stick and parried her blow. She tried to hit him again, but he blocked it, and began his own counter-attack. The next few minutes was a fast and furious swordfight that Alice was quickly losing. It ended up with her lying on the ground, winded, having tripped over her own feet. Jeff was standing over her with his stick to her neck.

"All right," panted Alice. "I surrender."

Jeff chuckled in victory. "As always." He lay down on the ground next to her. They lay there for a moment, watching the sun starting to sink closer to the horizon. Jeff smirked and said, "I'll beat you in all the Hogwarts classes too; just you wait."

Alice just smiled back. "We'll see about that," she said.

But as she lay there, Alice wondered if Jeff was right. What was she really good at? Nothing really. She loved to play Jeff's games, but she wasn't really very good at any of them. Every now and then, Alice tried to be a little lady for her mother's benefit, but she wasn't good at that either. The only thing Alice thought she might be good at was reading, but could that really be considered a skill? Anyone could read.

After dinner, Alice and Jeff climbed the tall tree near the creek, just like they always did. It was too dark to read, so Jeff took up his drumsticks and pounded on the tree bark.

"You're going to miss playing, aren't you?" asked Alice. "There aren't a lot of bands in the wizarding world."

Jeff didn't answer for a few moments. He just kept pounding out his rhythm, and then finally turned to Alice, asking, "Do you really think I'll fit in all right at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know," said Alice. "Honestly, I'm worried that _I _won't fit in."

"But you can do magic."

"I know, but...I don't make friends very easily," admitted Alice sheepishly.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Sure you do," he said. "You and I made friends about the first day we met each other." He continued his rhythm, more quickly and passionately this time, doubling the tempo.

"Yeah, well that was different," said Alice, almost to herself. Even now, she really wasn't sure how she and Jeff had become friends. It had just kind of happened. But Alice wasn't naive enough to believe that she could have similar experiences at Hogwarts. Perhaps, though, if she and Jeff were in the same house it wouldn't even matter.

When Alice and Jeff saw how dark it was getting, they carefully climbed down the tree, and made their way to their respective houses. They knew that the day was over. Part of Alice was excited, ready to begin the next chapter of her life, but another part of her was sad to let her happy childhood at the creek go. Sure, there would be more days, during breaks and the summer, in which she and Jeff could have nostalgic moments at the creek, but somehow Alice knew that it wouldn't be the same.

She was letting this go, but somehow, she knew, or at least she hoped, that the new life she would start tomorrow would be even better.


	6. The Journey to Hogwarts

**Chapter 6: The Journey to Hogwarts**

Peggy held tight to Alice's hands, unwilling to let her get on the train. "You have to write me," she demanded.

"I will," Alice replied.

"Every day?" begged Peggy in her typical mendicant little-sister voice.

"We'll see," said Alice with a smile. As different as she was from her little sister, somehow Alice knew she was going to miss her this year. And while she seriously doubted that she would write every day, Alice expected that her time at Hogwarts would be enough to provide her with plenty of writing material.

"You kids take care," said Alice's father with a smile. "Don't let me get any letters telling me you've misbehaved."

Alice just smiled and said, "I won't." He knew she wasn't the type to get in trouble.

Mrs. Macmillan told Alice to be a good girl and make her proud. Both parents promised to write frequently.

Jeff, whose parents had bid him farewell before he got on the platform, was beginning to get impatient. He grabbed Alice's arm. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Alice and Jeff stepped onto the train. Finding a compartment seemed impossible at first, but they were finally able to locate an empty one at the very back of the train.

They sat down across from each other, and Jeff wondered, "Do you know how much time we have until we leave?"

Alice peeked at her watch. "Er, I suppose we have about five minutes," she replied.

The door slid open. "Hey! What are you doing in our compartment?"

Two boys stood in the door. One of them was tall and fierce-looking, with dark hair that fell into his eyes, patrician features and a scowl on his face. The other one was shorter and less refined. His Muggle shirt was untucked and his black hair stuck out in every direction. He wore stylish glasses and had a big smirk on his face. "What makes you first years think that you can just plunk your things down in any old compartment?" he asked. "We've ridden in this compartment every train ride since our first year."

"Sorry. We'll leave," said Jeff. He got up to leave, but Alice wouldn't budge.

She scowled at the older boys. "So?" she asked. "You are no more entitled to this compartment than anyone else!"

The taller boy advanced toward them. "I beg to differ," he said.

"How do you mean?" Alice wanted to know.

The other boy's smirk widened. "We'll put it to you firsties this way: if you can successfully hex us, then you can have the compartment."

Alice was on her feet now. "That's not even fair! We're only first years, and magic on the train is surely against the rules anyway!"

The boys started to snicker, as though she had just said something funny. Jeff moved toward the door. "Come, on, Alice. There's no use staying here and arguing with them."

Alice started to protest, but Jeff grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the compartment. Two more boys walked past them and entered the compartment, looking less mean but looking as though they knew what had just happened.

"Jeff, you couldn't just let them have their way like that," said Alice. "They wouldn't have really hexed us, you know."

Jeff just shook his head. "I don't know what they would have done," he said. "All I do know is that there was two of them and they were bigger than me. Besides, I want to start my first day off on the right foot. Let's not make any enemies this quickly."

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly the train lurched forward. Jeff grabbed her arm to stop her from falling over and said, "Come on. Let's find a compartment."

They finally found one that only had two people: Michelle Longbottom and a boy with white-blonde hair. Jeff slid the compartment door open.

"All right if we sit here?" asked Alice cautiously, but Michelle waved them in eagerly.

"This is Flavius," she said cheerfully, gesturing at the blonde boy. "Flavius, this is Alice and Jeff."

The boy took in their appearance with wide eyes. "Are you first years too?" he asked them earnestly.

When Jeff gave him the affirmative, Flavius grinned. "Great," he said. "I don't much like older students. They act funny."

Alice and Jeff exchanged puzzled glances, and Michelle asked, "They act funny? How do you mean?"

Flavius shrugged. "I don't know...they kind of walk with their heads held too high and they probably think they can beat me in gobstones." And, to clear up any confusion, he added, "No one can beat me in gobstones."

This statement left a kind of awkward silence that Michelle filled by saying, "So, where did all of you grow up?"

"I'm from Hogsmede," responded Flavius blithely.

"But if you are from Hogsmede, why would you come on the train?" asked Alice. "Surely you could just walk to school!"

Flavius looked at her as though she was crazy. "And miss the train ride? This is how everyone gets to Hogwarts!"

Michelle turned and looked at the other two. "So where are you from?"

"Grayson," replied Jeff and Alice together. "It's a Muggle village," added Alice for clarification.

"That sounds different from my story," said Michelle. "I grew up in London, see. Lots of people; wizards and Muggles both. My mum mostly stayed home and taught me subjects like maths and reading. She has a lot of friends in the Ministry, though, so she would have people over for tea or take me places so I understand magical people well. What is it like to live exclusively among Muggles?"

As Jeff described his experiences growing up with Muggles, Alice realized that Michelle's life sounded a bit similar to the ways hers would have been, had she stayed in London. Mrs. Macmillan might not know many people in the Ministry, but Alice was still exposed to people of the magical world to some extent.

Her thoughts shifted to the two older boys that had kicked she and Jeff out of the compartment. In Alice's opinion, this was not fair at all. Regardless of the fact that the boys were older than them, they should not have been allowed to order people about like that. Alice hated letting people have their way unfairly. Jeff was definitely right to have walked away from that situation, but he should not have had to. The way the boys had acted in such a condescending manner was rude and unacceptable.

Alice's musings were interrupted by the arrival of the candy trolley. The few hours involved the children looking through their candy, sorting through chocolate frog cards, and discussing their hopes and fears about what Hogwarts would be like. One of Alice's hopes that was growing very swiftly was that she and Michelle would end up in the same house; she didn't think she could find many other girls that would be quite as amiable and easy to get along with.

As she contemplated this, the compartment door slid open once more. This time, it was a tall boy with dark brown hair and kind features. Alice recognized him instantly as Michelle's brother, Frank.

He poked his head into the compartment "I see you're making friends," he said, his eyes sliding over the scene and resting on Michelle, who was sitting near the door.

Michelle nodded eagerly. "This is Flavius," she said, gesturing at the blonde boy who had fallen asleep with his mouth gaping open. "And this is Jeff and this is Alice. We met them at Diagon Alley, remember?"

Jeff smiled and nodded. "That I do," he said. He looked at Jeff and said in his charming way, "I'm a third-year, so I've been around Hogwarts for awhile. If you ever need anything, even just directions to a class, be sure to let me know." He turned and looked at Alice too and smiled to show that this invitation applied to her as well. She tried to smile back without making it look too awkward.

Frank looked back at Michelle. "Well, it seems that you're doing all right without me."

Michelle just grinned. "You were worried?"

Frank's smile remained. "Well, you know, I have to make sure my baby sister is doing all right. I can't have you getting into trouble on the first day, you know. And I would sure hate for you to be sitting in your own compartment somewhere, crying because you miss me."

Michelle gave him a playful slap in the arm. "Get out of here, Frank," she demanded.

Frank just laughed and left the compartment, saying, "Take care, ickle Shellykins!" right before he slid the compartment door shut.

After the compartment door was back in place, Alice said, "You sure have a nice brother, Michelle."

Michelle shrugged. "He's Frank," she said, waving her hand as though that was a sufficient explanation.

Before they knew it, they were pulling into the Hogwarts station. Jeff shook Flavius awake, and the first years exited the compartment to hear the booming voice of an extremely tall, wide man with a hairy face, "Firs' years, follow me!"

"Well," said Jeff, echoing Alice's own thoughts, "here goes."

The foursome exited the train along with the other first years, prepared to perceive the castle they had heard countless stories about with their own eyes.


	7. The Sorting Hat

**Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat**

The castle was even more magestic than Alice had envisioned. She joined in with Jeff oohing and aahing as she beheld the tall, ornate towers that reached far higher than she could have imagined and the expansive, glassy lake. She couldn't get a good view of the grounds yet as the sky was darkening, but Alice was sure that they would be a haven for all of the outdoor play she, Jeff, and possibly other children who might join them could want.

As the first years entered the castle, Alice could tell that her amazement was not diminishing one bit. The entrance hall was illuminated by floating candles, decorated by moving portraits, and inhabited by-could they be?-silvery ghosts. Alice gazed in amazement at the lustrous, ancient surroundings of the castle that was still beautiful and not by any means obsolete.

"Hello, students. My name is Professor Agnes. I am here to introduce you to the world of Hogwarts."

Alice quickly flicked her eyes toward the source of the voice to find a young man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was a gentle, kind looking man with smile that reached his eyes in a charming twinkle. "I am sure you are all very excited to discover which house you are soon be a part of, and I do not wish to leave you in suspense for much longer. However, before you are chosen for your houses, there are a few things I would like to say to you."

The man was so kind that the nervous young first years relaxed somewhat as he continued. "For those of you who do not know, there are four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. There is no one _right _house to be in. Every single house produces outstanding witches and wizards, in many different fields. So when you are chosen for your houses today, I do not want any of you to feel cheated in any way."

Once the professor had completed his explanation of the purpose of houses, the point system, and a few other subjects, he led them to the Great Hall. Jeff looked very nervous. When they came to a halt, Alice whispered, "What's wrong?"

"What if we're not in the same house?" Jeff asked. "You're the only one I know here."

Alice smiled at him. "You know we would still be friends," she said.

Jeff's eyebrows pushed together, and at last he said, "You know, you're right. I shouldn't be worried about that at all." In determination, he turned to watch Professor Agnes walking up to a three-legged stool upon which Alice saw a dirty-looking, ragged piece of cloth. She knew that it must be the Sorting Hat. Alice wanted to laugh when she thought about what Peggy would say when told she must put it on her head.

After a few moments, the entire hall became quiet, intently focused on the hat. At last, a rip near the brim opened and it sang,

"_A thousand years ago, in days long past, lived the founders four:_

_Wise Ravenclaw, Kind Hufflepuff, Keen Slytherin, Brave Gryffindor._

_They began a school to teach the skills of magic to young minds_

_They took children of all races, all abilities, all kinds._

_Slytherin took the ones whose heritage was true,_

_He wanted the students who were magical through and through._

_Gryffindor took the brave, the daring and the bold,_

_So that magic chivalry never would grow cold._

_Ravenclaw selected the witty, the knowing and the bright,_

_For only in true knowlege, she said, can ever dwell true might._

_But Hufflepuff, in her kindness, saw them all the same,_

_And the students in her house, likewise, discluded none who came_

_Within their doors._

_And this is our school, nay our true family, our kin_

_Everywhere you go here, you are sure to have a friend._

_So put me on dear children,_

_I've never once been wrong._

_Put me on your little heads;_

_I'll tell you where you belong._"

Alice stared at the hat. _If the hat is so smart,_ she thought to herself, _surely he will know that Jeff and I belong in the same house_.

Professor Agnes stood in front of the school with a scroll and said, "When I call your name, if you would please come forward and try on the hat. Adams, Thomas!"

Not too long after the skinny dark-haired boy tried on the hat, it shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

As Professor Agnes proceeded through the alphabet, Alice grew increasingly regretful of the fact that her last name began with an "M." Surely she could have had the name Abbot. Or Bennet. She did not want to wait any longer to find out the house in which she would spend the next seven years..

The H's were finished. Then the J's. Another sorrowful thought crossed Alice's mind, and it was that Jeff's name would not be read until they reached the R's. Alice let out an involuntary groan. This night was going to last into eternity.

"Longbottom, Michelle!"

Michelle hurried forward eagerly, grabbed the hat, and jammed it on quickly, excited to discover her fate. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat cried out almost at once.

The table on the far right exploded into cheers. Michelle looked very pleased indeed as she made her way over to Hufflepuff table. Her brother stood up and cheered excitedly. He grabbed her arm and led her to the seat beside him, and he and the rest of the kids around Michelle patted her on the back. Alice was still watching Michelle taking her seat of honor when Professor Agnes called out, "Macmillan, Alice!"

Alice began to make her way up to the front of the hall, hoping desperately that she would not trip and fall in front of all of these unfamiliar faces. She hated the feeling of having so many eyes on her at once. The walk up to the front seemed to last into eternity, until at last, Alice reached the stool. The hat looked even grubbier up close. Alice took a deep breath, slipped the hat on, and waited.

"Oh, my, oh, my. Now there's an interesting mind," said a quiet voice right in Alice's ear. She knew it was the hat.

"I can tell you've come from a good family...good people, good people. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, most of them, hmmm?"

Alice nodded, although the hat already knew the answer.

"There are some good things here," mused the hat. "Very intellegent, indeed. But I sense something stronger even than that! You have some very passionate thoughts, young lady! Very intriguing..."

"Whatever you do, don't you dare put me in Slytherin," thought Alice emphatically. "Or I will...throw you on the floor and stomp on you!"

The hat made an odd sort of sound; Alice supposed he must have chuckled. "Well, well. I haven't heard a threat quite like that before. I believe I know just where to place you...GRYFFINDOR!"

Surprised at the sudden yell in her ears, Alice pulled off the hat and made her way to the table that was cheering loudly-for her. Alice was not used to being in the center of attention, and she did not think she liked it much. But she sat down next to an older girl who must be a Prefect and waited for Jeff's name to be called.

When he finally was called, Jeff put the hat on his head with determination. The nerves Alice had sensed in him earlier had long since vanished. In a matter of seconds, the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Jeff hurried to the table to join her.

The rest of the evening was amazing. The Prefect Alice had sat next to was named Dorcas Meadowes. She was very nice and she told Jeff she was a Muggleborn herself, which made him feel a lot better. The food was delicious, and it was lovely getting to sit at the table with Jeff in a place they had talked about for weeks.

Alice didn't seek out anyone to talk to, but Jeff seemed to be keeping good conversation. Alice listened as he spoke to a boy named Sturgis about their thoughts for the school year.

"Well, from what I've heard, the classes are tough, but Quidditch is amazing, the castle is completely unpredictable, and there is always something going on at Hogwarts."

Jeff, as usual, echoed Alice's thoughts: "This year is going to be amazing."


	8. Those Stupid Marauders

**Chapter 8: Those Stupid Marauders**

Alice had decided by the first morning that throughout the school year she would spend most of her time with Jeff and his roommates, for her own were annoying to say the least. The girls in her dorm had whined because the room was too cold and old-fashioned, and spent hours with the light still on trying to arrange their decorations just so. When they had finally agreed that it was time for lights out, they had spent hours complaining about the fact that all the cute older boys were at the Hufflepuff table and discussing all the pros and cons of different brands of clothing from hats all the way to underwear. And if this were not enough, they woke up bright and early the following morning in order to make sure their hair was absolutely perfect for the day, and they did not do so in a quiet manner.

The girls in Alice's room were named Teresa, Emily, Erica, and Lucille. The easiest by far to take was Erica. She was very quiet and mostly just listened to whatever Teresa, Emily, or Lucille said, and imitated them. She was very pretty, with golden curls and light blue eyes. Of course, all the girls in the dorm were pretty, but most of them Alice saw as "airheads."

Emily was by far the worst. She would talk constantly about herself, and expect everyone else to be interested. She also, to Alice, seemed to have an air of self importance and look down on those she thought inferior to her. Alice could not help but feel like she was one of those that Emily held in contempt. For Emily had talked eagerly to all the other girls but barely payed Alice any notice.

As soon as Alice felt that it was a reasonable enough time to be up and around, she left her dormitory. She could tell that Jeff was not up yet, for he certainly would have waited for her in the common room if he was. Sighing, she paced a couple of turns around the room and finally resigned herself to sitting in one of the armchairs near the empty fireplace.

Students were beginning to stir. Dorcas Meadowes walked up to Alice and asked, "Do you need help finding the Great Hall again?"

Alice shook her head. "No, I'm just waiting for my friend," she said dismissively.

Dorcas moved on, but before she did she told Alice to make sure and let her know if she needed anything.

Alice sighed as more and more students walked through the room. She was beginning to get impatient. _Why_ was Jeff taking so long? Was he going to stay in bed until noon on the first morning?

There was a tap on Alice's shoulder. She spun around to see one of the boys from the train yesterday, the one with the messy hair and glasses. "What do you want?" she asked him quite rudely.

"Are you wondering where your friend is?" he asked her.

Alice scowled at him. She had no wish to be patronized by he and his gang yet again, and wished she could just be invisible to him. "Why do you ask?" she said.

He smirked. "Well, I don't think he'll be out here for a little while," he said. With that, he walked over to three other boys and they left the common room. One of them was the other boy from the train yesterday.

This was enough for Alice. She got to her feet and climbed the boys staircase. She found Jeff's dormitory and was about to pound on the door when it opened.

Jeff and two other boys stood there. Alice's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of them. Each one of them had hair streaked with multiple colors. Jeff's was the worst; he had a huge purple streak in his hair and some splatters of red, blue, green, and orange.

"Jeff!" cried Alice. "What happened?"

The boys laughed. "Some of the third year boys pulled a prank on us," explained one of the boys that Alice didn't know. "They put a charm on our dormitory so that it rained different colors. I don't think they'll wash out for a few hours at least."

They made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Along the way, several people complemented the boys on their hairstyles. This really annoyed Alice, and she wondered why Jeff and the others didn't seem at all bothered by this. Finally, after they had sat down at the Gryffindor table to eat breakfast, Alice asked, "Aren't you angry at them, Jeff?"

"Angry?" asked Jeff, his fork freezing over his eggs. "Why would I be angry at them? Obviously this is their way of welcoming us to Hogwarts!"

The other boys, Larry and one who Alice had just learned was named Sturgis, looked at Alice in confusion. They obviously didn't understand why she was making such a big deal about this. Still, Alice felt inclined to continue.

"But Jeff, those are the same boys who kicked us out of the compartment on the ride to school!"

Jeff waved his hand. "Oh, are you still on about that?" he asked. He took a bite of eggs and swallowed. "Alice, they didn't mean it personally. Those boys are just kind of flamboyant. They like to joke around and pick on people, but it's just because they like them."

Alice wasn't so sure, but she could see no point in arguing this any further. The conversation took its turn as the boys started discussing Quidditch teams.

The first class of the day for the Gryffindors and Slytherins was Potions. Alice wasn't all too sure about the subject matter, but she liked Slughorn all right. Sure, he got a bit carried away when he talked about all the famous people he knew and his "slug club", but he was nice to Alice and seemed to know his subject.

Jeff and Alice had a hard time finding the History of Magic classroom afterwards, and when they finally entered the room the teacher was already deep into a lecture. However, they were relieved when he didn't even look up from his notes and they were able to slip in completely unnoticed by him. Of course, they weren't so relieved when they discovered how boring his class was going to be.

Their biggest problem was trying to find the Transfiguration room after lunch. They were pretty sure it was on the seventh floor, but every classroom they passed was the wrong one. Alice sighed. "We better hurry; the class is about to start. Maybe we should find some older student who can point us in the right direction."

As she said this, the four annoying boys, the "Marauders", Alice had heard them called, were passing by. Before Alice could stop him, Jeff said, "Hey, can any of you tell us where Professor McGonagal's class is?"

They turned. The tall one with aristocratic features and gray eyes smiled. "Hey, Jeff, right?"

"Yeah," said Jeff. "And you're..."

"Sirius," supplied the boy. "See, your problem is that you're on the wrong floor."

Jeff looked a tad bit embarassed. "Are you serious?" he asked heavily.

"Absolutely," he said. The other boy nodded, with a slight smile on his face.

"Well, what floor then?" Alice asked impatiently.

The bespectabled boy looked at her and grinned. "Go downstairs to the sixth floor. On it, you will see a fountain with a statue of a unicorn. Right behind it is an invisible door. Walk through it and at the end of the corridor you should find McGonagal's room."

They turned around good-naturedly. Alice was sure she heard the boy named Sirius chuckle as they walked off.

"Well, no wonder we couldn't find it," said Jeff. "Not only were we on the wrong floor, but it's also concealed behind an hidden door! Come on."

And so they descended to the sixth floor. Luckily, the unicorn fountain did not take long at all to spot. Jeff put his hand on the wall behind it. "Well, there's no real wall here, that's for sure," he said, and he promptly walked through the wall and disappeared.

Alice followed suit. The corridor they had entered was a dimly lit one only illuminated by the occasional floating candle. They walked to the end of it where they found a door. "All right," said Jeff. "I think we found it."

He cracked open the door, and they entered it to see that they were now in a large symmetrical room with walls lined with doors. "This can't be right," said Alice. "He was probably playing a joke on us." She turned around to go back, but the door slammed on its own and merged into the wall, disappearing from sight. She put both hands against the wall and pushed, hard, but it wouldn't budge.

They were stuck in a maze.


	9. Rooms

**_Thank you so much everyone who has reviewed my story! It makes me feel good and helps me improve my story. :)_  
**

**Chapter 9: Rooms**

Alice was dumbfounded. She didn't know what to do or what to say. As she surveyed all the doors wordlesly, she became very frustrated that she and Jeff had allowed those boys to drag both of them into a trap like this. But she supposed, since they were here, she might as well try her hardest to help them get out this labyrinth.

"Which door should we try?" she asked Jeff.

He looked quizzically around the room, at the fifteen or so doors. "Well, I doubt the right one is behind us," he said. "Come on, let's try the one directly across from us."

Alice walked toward it and frowned. "How are we going to remember we've been in this room?" she asked. "This whole room is a square, and there are four doors on each wall." She looked behind her. "Except for that wall, because we can't go back out the way we came."

Jeff frowned. "Well, it is the second door from its wall At least that tells us something."

"What if the room spins again?"

"That's a fair point." Jeff ran his hand through his streaked hair in concentration. "Well, let's just try it and see what we find," he said at last. "If nothing else, it will give us some idea of what to expect behind other doors."

The two Gryffindors walked through the door. It was illuminated by a brilliant chandelier and had a pretty patterned floor. "Hey, look, a trapdoor!" cried Jeff excitedly, pointing.

Alice looked at it. "But Jeff, that can't be right," she said. "We don't want to go down into the dungeons. And see, there's a door there."

"What if it's a dead end?" asked Jeff.

"What if it's not?" asked Alice. "What if the trap door leads to a dead end?"

"Or what if," said Jeff, suddenly having an epiphany, "there's not one single door that leads out of the maze? What if there are several that lead to locations all over the castle?"

Alice had to admit, that sounded amazing, and if they had time to explore the maze that might prove quite useful. However, now was not the time for adventure. Now was the time to get out of this maze as quickly as possible and try to make it to Professor McGonagall's class.

"Well, if that's the case," she said, "we'd better hope that we can find one of them, and quickly."

With that, she marched toward the door and opened it. But Jeff was right; it was a dead end. Alice started to turn around, but Jeff said, "Wait. I want to try something."

He walked around the room, feeling the wall. He must have found what he was looking for, because suddenly his face lit up with triumph. "Yep, you can walk through this wall. Come on, Wallace."

They walked through the accessible part of the wall and Alice closed her eyes and re-open them to make sure what she saw was truly there.

She and Jeff were standing outside somewhere, in a beautiful meadow. The sun was shining brilliantly, and she could see a beautiful brook with a waterfall just a little distance away. Alice looked behind her and saw that the wall from which they had just emerged had vanished. Then she looked at Jeff, to see that he was searching around the meadow in confusion.

Alice started to walk toward the brook in curiosity-and let out a shriek as she ran headlong into an invisible wall.

Jeff hurried over to where she stood, winded. "Are you all right?" he asked. He felt the unseen wall in amazement. "Brilliant," he said.

Alice looked around the meadow, which must actually be a room. Getting out was going to be a bit of a challenge, but one they could manage. "All right, let's feel along the wall," she suggested. "Perhaps we'll find a way out."

They felt along the wall until Alice's hand grasped an invisible doorhandle. She grabbed it and pulled the door open. Once open, the door became visible, and they could glimpse the next room: a room full of doors.

At this point, Alice slumped against the wall. "This is ridiculous," she said. "What if this maze goes on forever and there's no way out?" Tears began to form.

"That's rubbish," said Jeff. "This is the whole point of mazes, Wallace: to present a challenge that people have to overcome in order to find a way out. Think of it like Frodo in _Lord of the Rings_. He never gave up, and he was finally able to destroy the ring."

Alice gave him a half-smile, trying not to entirely lose her composure. "That's true, I guess," she said. "But which door should we pick?"

Jeff scrutinized the different doors. "We'll start on the one directly to the left," he said at last. "That way, if it's a dead end, we can proceed to the door directly on the left and continue that way."

They opened the door, and had to climb up a flight of stairs to reach the next room. This room was a huge closet. Alice saw clothes of all kinds; men's and women's work, play, and dress robes. There was a rack of hats, and along one wall a mountain of shoes. "Wow," she said. "If the girls in my dorm could see this room they would freak."

Jeff laughed. Then he became solemn. "Well, do you see any way out of this room?"

Alice squeezed through several layers of cloaks and spotted a door. "Yes, through here," she called. Jeff found her. Alice sighed as she opened the door and spotted, to her dismay, three more doors to choose from. Jeff wordlessly led her into the first room that looked like a simple classroom and that had no visible way out other than the way they had entered. They felt along the wall, but were finally resigned to the fact that this was a dead end.

The second room was similar to the first. However, Jeff and Alice were pleasantly surprised when a ghost, namely Nearly-Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, glided in through a wall. He grabbed his head so that it would not come off of his head in his surprise.

"Why, hello," he said. "I am not accustomed to seeing young students in this part of the castle often. Particularly not on the first day of school."

"Nick!" cried Jeff. "I don't know if you remember me from the feast last night, but I'm a new Gryffindor. Do you think you could help us out of here so we can get to class?"

Nick pondered their request, and replied, "Well, children, I regret to tell you that the existence of a ghost differs greatly from a mortal in even the most basic ways. I could certainly find my own way out of this maze by floating through the walls. But I'm afraid I do not know how to get around this maze by using the doors."

Jeff's face fell, and Alice was sure hers probably had too. She had been hoping that Sir Nicholas would be able to help them. However, Jeff and she thanked him all the same and returned to the previous room to try the third door.

This room was different. It had an elegent mahogany desk on which sat an ancient book that must have been written in an obsolete version of English. Along one wall was a bookshelf lined with many different books that looked very old yet must have served their purposes at one time. The other walls were lined with several portriats.

In one of them, a kind-looking older woman was sitting in a quaint chair surrounded by magical plants. "Oh! You are students at Hogwarts, are you not?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Yes," they replied together.

At this, the woman's face softened, and she said, "Poor dears. Students have been known to become trapped in this maze for days without finding a way out. I am Helga Hufflepuff, by the way."

Alice looked at the portrait in amazement. This was _Helga Hufflepuff?_! She had never imagined getting the opportunity to speak with someone so legendary, even in portrait form.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Professor Hufflepuff," she said.

"The pleasure is all mine," replied the Founder kindly.

"What is this place?" asked Jeff, quite randomly in Alice's opinion.

The woman smiled. "Well, _this _room is my office," she said. "It has not been put to any use for hundreds of years." Alice wondered if the woman was going to elaborate on the maze or this room any more, but she left the explanation there. When Alice and Jeff said nothing else, she said, "Now, do I assume correctly that you would like me to tell you how to exit this maze?"

"Yes," Jeff and Alice said together once more.

"Just behind that curtain over there, what looks like a window is actually a door. Walk through it, and you should appear on the sixth floor in the main castle."

The children thanked her profusely and walked through the door that looked like a solid window, just as Helga Hufflepuff had directed. Alice breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that they were, indeed, back in the main part of Hogwarts.

"Where is everyone?" she asked when she saw that the corridor was empty.

Jeff looked at his watch. "Probably at dinner," he said as Alice's stomach growled.

She groaned. "I'm going to kill those Marauders," she proclaimed in dismay. "Now we have to find the Great Hall."


	10. Dorcas Meadowes v Sirius Black

_**Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews, and I apologize that it took me so long to get this chapter up. My excuse is limited internet access and time to work on the story, but I will try to get chapters up much more frequently in the future. Thanks you guys!**_

**Chapter 10: Dorcas Meadowes v. Sirius Black**

Alice's first week at Hogwarts was a pretty good one. She was very grateful that she and Jeff had learned their way around the castle by that point, at least enough to find the Great Hall and all of their classes. They had agreed not to tell anyone about the maze. This was Alice's idea; she wanted to be able to have a place she and Jeff could be together without having constant crowds of people around them.

This secret proved to be a challenging one to keep, however. When Alice and Jeff wandered into the Great Hall to catch the tail end of dinner the evening of the first day, the first thing that Jeff's roommates did was ask him where he had been all afternoon.

Jeff flushed and glanced at Alice. "We got really lost," he said, sounding a bit embarassed. "And by the time we knew where we were going, it was too late to go to Transfiguration."

It wasn't even a lie. Alice had to admit, Jeff certainly had shrewd cover-up skills. However, she felt it important to add, "We asked those idiotic third-year boys for directions, but of course they pointed us in the wrong direction."

Sturgis and another of Jeff's roommates named Luke laughed. "You mean you really asked _them _for directions?" said Sturgis incredulously.

"Well, you've got to admit, giving the wrong directions to a couple of first years is tame compared to some of the things I've heard they get up to," said Luke.

"Do you mean to tell me that those boys were causing trouble to first years _again_?" cried an irate voice. Alice looked to see the sixth year prefect, Dorcas Meadowes, looking at them in dismay. "That's the second time today!"

Alice looked at Jeff, and shot him a _What did I tell you?_ look, but he just shrugged and raised his eyebrows.

"Sirius Black!" called Dorcas, a calculating expression on her face as she surveyed the tall, slender, patrician boy, who was sitting a few seats away with the rest of the Marauders. Sirius glanced up at her.

"Why Dorcas!" he cried good-naturedly. "If it isn't my favorite prefect! How are you doing today?"

"Get over here right now, you callow little monkey!" growled the sixth year. She was not playing games. Reluctantly, Sirius made a show of getting up and making his way slowly over to where Dorcas was sitting.

"I hope you make this snappy," he said with a bored expression on his face. "I don't want my food to get cold."

"I'll take as long as I please," she barked imperatively. She then looked at him critically with a frown on her face as she said, "You severely disappoint me, Mr. Black. I expect so much more out of our third year Gryffindors than you have shown, and I am apalled at the utter lack of chivalry you have displayed. You, as a returning Gryffindor have a responsiblity to make our newcomers feel welcome and to graciously integrate them into our community. Instead, you have used them as a way to play your childish little games and have caused them to miss an introductory lesson. Thus, you have lost them an opportunity they could use to embrace their magical abilities and thereby grow in them, which is a precept upon which this very institution was founded. Pay attention!" she snapped as Sirius stood there, pretending to be bored and stifling a yawn behind his hand. By this point, the Gryffindor table and even some students at the Ravenclaw table had fallen silent to watch the spectacle.

"I suppose that it wasn't enough for me to discover that you had locked a first year girl into Myrtle's bathroom this morning! Why must you continue to make life difficult for the defenseless, Mr. Black?"

"I wonder how they know what's _in _Myrtle's bathroom," muttered a nearby fourth-year girl, setting off a few muted chuckles.

In that moment, in which all attention was directed to Sirius, he smiled and shrugged passively. "Actually, Meadowes, I'm making life easier for the first years by giving them all a laugh." He cleared his throat. "I mean, I'm providing them with an opportunity to rise above everything meager and insipid in life into to a land of joy, lightheartedness, and youth."

By this point, many students were trying desperately to hold back their laughter. Larry Matthews was one of the worst; he was turning beet red and looked like he was having some sort of a seizure.

But Dorcas was all business. "_I _didn't hear anyone laughing. What I would like you to do, Mr. Black, is to apologize to these poor young minds you have hindered, and to give your word that in the future you will be a good example and advisor to them, as a third-year Gryffindor should be."

Sirius just rolled his eyes, and retained his smirk. "I'm sorry that you didn't appreciate the humor in what we did. We will try better next time to concoct something much more amusing."

"That's quite all right," said Jeff with a grin. Alice kicked him under the table, and Matthew actually did laugh this time.

Dorcas did not look at all pleased with Sirius's apology, but seemed to feel that this was the best she was going to do. "Remember, I am watching you, Mr. Black," she said, giving him a final death glare, and then turned back to her food.

Half of the Great Hall burst into applause.

McGonagall, as it turned out, was not nearly as unhappy with Jeff and Alice for missing her class as either of them had anticipated. It seemed that she had heard Dorcas's speech in the Great Hall and had discovered for herself the reason that they had missed her class. She only gave them a warning to not skip her class in the future and left it at that.

Alice spent the rest of that week getting acquainted with Jeff's roommates, her classes, and the castle. She found Flavius, Sturgis, Luke, Travis, and Kingsley much more agreeable than the girls in her dormitory. Flavius was a bit ditzy. He made the most off-the-wall comments sometimes, but everyone liked him. Sturgis was easy-going and light-tempered, and he always liked a laugh. His best frend, Luke, was the son of a well-known hit wizard. Luke was very friendly, but a bit irascible. Alice learned quickly by observing the boys that she would have to watch what she said around him. Travis and Kingsley were opposites. Travis was short, quiet and liked to blend into the crowd, although he did have his opinion about whatever was happening. Kingsley, however, was a tall black boy who loved to stand out. He had leadership qualities with a natural charisma, and therefore drew people to him.

The boys embraced Alice with open arms. It made her feel in some ways that she was not obligated to be friends with the girls in her dorm, so she didn't really make much of an effort to talk to them. This did not make her build much of a relationship with these girls, but Alice didn't particularly care. She felt different from them, incompatable in ways that then she did not understand. She did not like their drama and girlishness and tried to avoid it as much as possible, and at that time being friends with mostly boys seemed the best way to stay away from these tasteless issues.

Alice was, at last, finding an enviornment in which she could be comfortable. She might not be popular, attractive, or the teacher's pet. But she was accepted, and to Alice, that was all that really mattered.


	11. Broomsticks and Gossips

**Chapter 11: Broomsticks and Gossips**

It did not take Alice long to discover that her favorite class at Hogwarts was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Brewing potions was too intricate, and Alice was not good at it, and she did not possess the patience to take care of plants in Herbology or study stars in Astronomy. Charms and Transfiguration were all right; they were interesting but Alice did not possess any special abilities in these areas. As for History of Magic, even though Alice liked history and enjoyed learning about it, Professor Binn's teaching style was incredibly dull.

Professor Macaby, a tired old wizard with a soft, creaky voice and snow white hair taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was by no means the reason Alice liked the class so much; in fact, she figured his teaching methods fell under the sole purpose of keeping the students quiet so that he could have some peace. His teaching method was to tell students to read the book, answer the questions, and write short essays, to which all students always received high marks. Every now and then he would stand before the class and ask them some questions, but most of the time he sat at his desk, grading essays, reading a book, or simply staring into space somberly.

However, Alice loved the class. Her textbook was fascinating, and unlike the other students who put off their work and spent the class talking instead, she would spend the entire allotted classtime reading _An Awareness of Dark Forces_. Sometimes when she had more free time during the day, Alice would read the book some more. By the middle of the second week, she had already finished the book, so she borrowed some books from the library to read during Macaby's class.

Of course, the textbook had been watered-down in order to be used as school curriculum for eleven-year-olds, but it intrigued Alice all the same to read about some of the Dark creatures and spells that existed in the magical world. She noticed this fascination even more when reading the library books that were set on an older level. However fearsome some of the things Alice read about might seem, they did not terribly frighten her. They reminded her of some of the evils encountered by the characters in the books she and Jeff loved to read, and somehow Alice had the feeling that one day, these would be the forces she would be fighting against herself. This gave her an odd sort of shiver when she thought about it, but she felt that it was one more of anitcipation than of fear.

Jeff's favorite subject was Transfiguration. He was amazed by the concept of turning objects into other objects, and he was eager to learn as much as it took for him to be successful in the class. He had to study hard and work at it, but Jeff definitely showed the most skill in their class of Gryffindors in Transfiguration.

The one thing Alice felt that she disliked the most about Hogwarts was how crowded the castle was. Around the grounds, in the common room, in the corridors...students were everywhere. If Alice ever wanted to be alone, she would probably have to go back in the maze.

But Alice was afraid to. Not because of being alone, of course, but because she was afraid that if she went back into the maze, she would get lost and take days finding her way out again. She thought she might be able to find the exit from Helga Hufflepuff's office, but if Alice made one wrong turn she would be totally lost.

If only she could get Jeff to go back in there with her! However, Jeff was so busy making friends with his dormmates, he was unlikely to be able to find time to spend with Alice. So whenever Alice wanted some space from people, she would often just go to her dormitory and read.

At the end of their second week of Hogwarts, the first year Gryffindors were scheduled a flying lesson with the first year Slytherins. Alice wasn't particularly looking forward to this, as she was clumsy enough with both her feet on the ground. Not only that, but she would also have to spend time with the Slytherins, with whom she did not get along very well. Having Potions classes with them was bad enough.

The afternoon of their flying lesson, Alice, Jeff, and his roommates made their way out onto the grounds. All the boys seemed very excited to learn to fly; Sturgis and Kingsley chattered excitedly about various Quidditch teams, while Luke talked about his brand-new Comet Two Forty that he had at home. Jeff was listening to both of these conversations intently, drinking in every word, obviously eager to discover what flying felt like.

Alice herself said nothing. She had flown before, of course, and she liked it, but she had no particular talent with it. Honestly, Alice wasn't any better at flying on a broomstick than she was playing baseball with Jeff, probably due to her clumsiness and lack of coordination.

When the group reached the area with the brooms, there was already a gathering of Slytherins around. One girl who Alice already particularly disliked, Valeria Avery, was talking animatedly with a group of Slytherin girls. They kept looking at Alice and laughing, which was really irritating her. _If you have a problem with me, come tell me to my face_, she thought to herself angrily.

Once the entire group had assembled, the Quidditch coordinator, Mr. Duncan, led them through the rudimentary flying steps. Reach out your hand, say up, etc...

Alice paid little attention to these proceedings. Instead, she was listening to Valeria, who was now standing near enough to Alice for her to make out some of what she was saying.

"...do you see that scarf Teresa Johnson's wearing? Makes her look like she's a six-year-old." Valeria obviously saw that Alice was watching her, because the next words out of her mouth were, "And that Macmillan girl doesn't even know what fashion is...She might as well be a boy..."

Mr. Duncan counted them off, and they all kicked off the ground, Alice's thoughts fuming. She didn't care one bit what Valeria Avery thought of her fashion, she truly didn't. But she couldn't believe that the girl talked so contemptuously about people behind their backs. It was rude and completely indecent.

At Mr. Duncan's order, the students rose into the air. Alice heard many shouts of amazement. To be honest, she didn't find flying remarkable anymore; just frightening. She was always half afraid that she was going to fall of her broom.

From the air, Mr. Duncan yelled, "All right, we're going to fly a lap around this area of the grounds. Follow me, everyone...slow and easy does it, now!"

"Hey, you there!"

Alice looked to see Valeria Avery staring at her with a malicious glint in her eyes.

"You look like you can barely work a broomstick! I thought you were supposed to be from a wizard family!"

This girl did not stir up good emotions in Alice. "Shut up," she said coldly, but loud enough for the haughty, stylish Slytherin to hear.

Valeria, quite agile on a broomstick, flew to the other side of Alice. "_What_ did you say to me?" she growled in Alice's other ear.

"I told you to shut up," said Alice, more firmly this time. She said nothing else, though. This girl wasn't worth it.

Suddenly, Alice felt a sharp impact against her broom. In shock, Alice struggled to regain her balance, but as clumsy as she was this was no use. She could feel herself jolting in mid-air, and knew that she was not going to be able to manage staying on her broomstick. Just before she fell, she thought she could hear a tiny voice from far away saying, "Oops! Sorry..."


	12. Getting Back Up

_**Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. Warm and fuzzy :) I'm afraid to say that I might be a little busy in June with summer classes but I will try to update as frequently as I can. Thank you so much for everyone who has stuck with the story for so long. Please, if there's anything you see that I can improve upon, don't hesitate to let me know in a Review or a PM. I really appreciate your feedback! :)  
**_

**Chapter 12: Getting Back Up**

Alice woke up to find herself in a room full of beds. _Oh, no, what happened?_ she thought. Then she realized: she had fallen off her broom.

Alice sat up, trying to gauge where she had hurt herself. Oh, yes, she had managed to bruise her back pretty well, and one of her legs felt very stiff, as if it were bound in tight threads.

"Oh, you're awake, poor dear," said a voice, and Alice looked up to see the school nurse bending over her. "Yes, it's healing quite nicely."

Alice rubbed her eyes. "What happened?" she asked. "Valeria Avery knocked me off my broom, didn't she?"

"Now, now," said Madam Pomfrey consolingly. "I'm sure that it was all an accident. What they _think_, turning loose all these eleven-year-old children with broomsticks..."

Alice, however, was not so calm. This was _not _an accident. That girl, for whatever reason, _hated_ Alice. And Alice had made a fool of herself in front of all the Gryffindors and Slytherins in her year. Obviously Jeff wanted nothing to do with her; he was nowhere to be found!

Before Alice knew it, she had burst into tears.

"There, there," said the matron. "I've fixed your broken leg and all you have are a few bruises. You'll be just fine."

"No," moaned Alice. "I've made a fool of myself in front of everybody! And I've flown before..."

She felt ashamed to be lying here, sobbing her heart out in front of this woman she barely knew, but Madam Pomfrey was very empathetic. She sat down on the bed beside Alice and put her hand on her shoulder. "Now, darling, you are by no means the first student I have had in here that has fallen off a broom. Countless students, even those who _have_ flown before, have ended up in here because of some kind of mishap."

Alice rubbed away her tears. She didn't want to be in this room, on a bed. She swallowed, hard, and said in a slightly more normal voice, "Can I leave now?"

The matron surveyed her carefully. "Well, your leg has mended up to allow you leave, but if you would prefer to stay here longer, I could certainly understand."

But Alice was already on her feet. "Then I will be going," she said shortly. Without waiting for another word, and ignoring Madam Pomfrey's protests, Alice walked out of the hospital wing without a backward glance.

She headed strait to Gryffindor tower. To her dismay, Jeff was nowhere to be found. Alice climbed up the stairs to her dormitory for some quiet time, but upon her entrance she saw that Emily and Teresa were sitting inside, talking about something that Alice did not bother to listen to. She quickly grabbed her copy of _Peter Pan_ and exited the dormitory just as she heard Teresa say, "Oh, look, Alice is back from the hospital wing."

Alice went back into the common room and sunk down into a secluded armchair near the corner of the room. She opened the book but was unable to lose herself into it. Instead, the events of the day continued to plague her, and soon Alice found herself fighting back tears rather than reading.

"Hey, Alice, what are you up to?"

Alice whirled around to see Dorcas Meadowes walking toward her. She tried to arrange her face into what she hoped was a stoic expression, but she could tell that she was unsuccessful when Dorcas said, "What's the matter, Alice?"

Alice didn't know quite what to say. After a moment's pause, Dorcas said, "I heard you had an accident on your broom during flying lessons today."

Alice's breaths started to come out faster and she replied, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? I can tell it's troubling you."

"It wasn't an accident," mumbled Alice, when she could tell that Dorcas was not going to relent until she got some kind of an answer.

Dorcas drew the nearest armchair close to Alice's and sat down. "Tell me what happened."

Alice took in a deep breath. "This first year girl, Valeria Avery...she _hates_ me. She was making fun of me, and then she ran into me on my broom. There wasn't anything I could do." She was crying now. "And now everyone thinks I'm too stupid to work a broomstick, even though I'm from a magical family! And Jeff...he's probably ashamed of me. He's probably laughing at me right now. He didn't come visit me in the hospital wing and now I can't find him anywhere..."

"Woah, now calm down there," said Dorcas kindly. "Surely you can't believe all that!"

Alice wordlessly nodded. Dorcas shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "All of that is a load of rubbish, and you know it. First of all, _no one_ hates you. Some people are just careless in the way they talk to people, that's all. And surely, even if she did purposely run into your broom, I am sure that Avery girl did not intend for you to fall. Secondly, no one thinks you're too stupid to fly a broomstick. Accidents happen, and that's all there is to it, and it has nothing to do with how smart you are. I seriously doubt that your friend Jeff thinks of you any less right now than he did this morning. He's a boy. He's probably off somewhere playing with his little friends, and he will return soon laden with apologies. It is rare for energetic young boys of his age to have the patience to sit in a quiet hospital wing for long periods of time, waiting for their friends to awaken..." her voice trailed off.

"Except, perhaps, for Frank Longbottom," she mused, almost to herself. "Anyways, stop your crying. There's no use for it."

Alice wiped her eyes. She could see Dorcas watching her closely, and somehow this made her feel better in a way, that someone cared for her at least.

"Would you like to play Goblin Wars? I'll try to see if I can get a group together."

A few minutes later, Alice was sitting on the floor in the Gryffindor common room with a group of sixth year girls, playing the popular magical board game. Alice nearly always beat Peggy, but she had a much harder time playing these older girls. A girl named Julia had just declared her victory when Alice saw Jeff enter the common room from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, there you are!" he said immediately. "I looked in the hospital wing, but Madam Pomfrey said you had left."

Alice shrugged. "And where have you been?" she asked a bit rudely.

Jeff immediately took the defensive. "Look, you were out cold and I wasn't sure how long it would be until you woke up. I was planning on checking on you, I promise."

"I said, where were you," pressed Alice.

"Er-just playing in the lake with Sturgis and Luke. Like I said, I didn't forget you; I was planning on checking on you-"

"Relax, you've made your point," cut in Dorcas, though not unkindly. She smiled at him. "Now, we were going to start another game. Would you like to join us?"

Suddenly, the events of the day were long forgotten. Jeff looked at the girls, cried, "Sure!" and plunked himself down on the floor with the rest of them.


	13. Playing Games

**Chapter 13: Playing Games**

That weekend, Jeff insisted that Alice get out of the castle to get some fresh air along with Kingsley, Flavius, Travis, Sturgis, Luke, and himself. This sounded like a great idea to Alice, who had missed playing outdoors with Jeff more than she had realized. She wondered what they would do, however, because many of their favorite Muggle pastimes would not be possible at Hogwarts.

Jeff, however, did not take long to select an activity. "Hey, look at that tree over there!" he called out loudly. "It's tall and it looks great for climbing. Come on!"

The other boys did not seem so eager. "Um, Jeff, that's the Whomping Willow," said Kingsley slowly.

"The _Whomping _Willow?" said Jeff in confusion. "What a brilliant name! What's wrong?" he asked when he saw that the other boys were staring at as if he had suggested storming into a lions' den. Alice just smiled. She knew what the Whomping Willow was.

"That tree will smash to pieces," warned Luke with wary eyes.

"What are you talking about? It's a _tree_," said Jeff, not understanding their hesitance.

"Not just any tree," countered Sturgis. He paused, obviously wondering how exactly to phrase the "Why don't we go over there and show you?"

The boys and Alice made their way over to the tree. Flavius seemed down-right excited. "I've only ever _heard_ of the Whomping Willow," he said in awe. "I've never actually come _near _it..."

"That was probably a good thing," said Travis quietly. Alice just shook her head, smiling in amusement.

They arrived at the tree and halted. Jeff didn't seem to understand why they had stopped. He continued making his way toward the tree, albeit a little cautiously.

Out of nowhere, a branch smacked Jeff in the chest and threw him back about ten feet. Alice ran toward him in concern, but he was already getting to his feet. "Wow, you lot were not joking," he said, staring in wonder at the tree. Alice looked at it as well. She had heard stories about the Whomping Willow, but she had never actually seen it attack people.

"Hey, I have an idea," squealed Flavius, practically jumping up and down with excitement. "We should all try to touch the trunk! Wouldn't that be a great game?"

"Sounds a bit stupid to me," murmured Travis, but no one was listening.

"It would require skill. And daring," said Kingsley with a smile. "We should do it! We could tell those third year boys who think they're so cool that we actually touched the trunk!"

The rest of the group put in their assent. Alice was inclined to be on the same page as Travis, but she did appreciate how potentially fun and challenging this new game could be. Besides, she knew that if Jeff wanted her to do this, he would find a way to compell her to do it regardless of her misgivings.

It didn't take long before a large crowd of first and second years had lined up to try their turn at the tree. Alice and everyone in Jeff's dormitory received large purple bruises, but they had so much fun trying to touch the trunk that it didn't matter. The game soon became a hit at Hogwarts, and after lessons each day the queue for the tree grew steadily longer.

Alice wrote letters to her family about her experiences at Hogwarts (excluding the Whomping Willow game) every few days. She realized with amusement that Peggy had, indeed, not succeeded in writing Alice every day as she had said she would. Instead, she usually scrawled a tiny note at the bottom of her parent's letters telling Alice that she missed her and wanted to hear about Hogwarts.

The next few weeks, Alice went to her lessons, did her homework, and tried to avoid her dormitory mates and Valeria Avery's group. She read some defense texts and played with the boys at the Whomping Willow, and occasionally skipped rocks at the lake with them.

One day, in mid-October, Alice was walking back toward Gryffindor tower after spending two fruitless hours in the library trying to work on an essay for Professor Slughorn. She was feeling very defeated indeed, since the essay was due the next morning.

When she reached the corridor that led to the Fat Lady's portrait, a loud noise made Alice jump. She turned, but saw nothing.

_Boom!_ This time the sound seemed to have come from a suit of armor. _Boom!_ Alice turned and saw a suit of armor several feet away jump into the air slightly.

"I can't believe those Marauders!" cried a voice. A freckle-faced girl with long, wavy red hair crossed her arms and scowled. "You'd think they'd have better things to do than disturb the peace of the castle constantly!"

"You believe it is the Marauders that have caused this?" Alice asked her, her brow creased.

"Who else," scoffed the girl. She was pretty, and Alice thought that she might be nice. She thought, or at least hoped that she was not simple-minded like the girls in her dorm were.

"I'm Alice," she said politely.

"Lily Evans," she replied, with the cheerful air of one who enjoyed meeting new acquaintances.

As the girls made their way back to the common room, Alice asked Lily, "What year are you?"

"Third," she responded. "Unfortunately in the same year as those Marauders. I must say, you have it so good not having to attend classes with them."

"Why, do they pull pranks during class?"

Lily chuckled darkly. "You have no idea."

There was a slight pause. "What year are you?" asked Lily conversationally. "Pixie," she added to the Fat Lady, who swung forward to admit them.

"First," responded Alice. She colored slightly as she said, "Well, I'd better get working on my potions essay that's due tomorrow."

Lily immediately looked interested. "What is it over?" she asked. "May I see?"

Alice did not like the idea of letting this older girl look at her sloppy essay that she was attempting to write. She just shrugged. "It's about the theory of producing sleeping draughts and their use in society."

Suddenly, Lily snatched the essay from Alice, causing her to instinctively cry out and grab for it back, but Lily was already scanning it with a critical eye and shaking her head.

"No, no, no," she said. "You would want to use lavender. Where on earth did you get flobber worms? And this paragraph here is poorly written. You look as though you merely copied the book..."

Alice immediately looked abashed and let her head sink down in humiliation. "I'm not very good at Potions," she admitted in a small voice.

Instantly, Lily's eyes filled with sympathy. Then, her face lit up with an ambitious smile. "Come on," she said, jerking her head toward a cushy sofa near the fire. "I am about to help you ace this essay."


End file.
